1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a particle behavior analysis method, a particle behavior analysis apparatus, and a storage medium storing a particle behavior analysis program and more particularly to a mechanism for analyzing by simulation the particle behavior in a state in which particles are mixed in color material (powder, developer), etc., used in an image formation apparatus of a printer, a facsimile machine, a multiple function processing machine having the functions of a printer and a facsimile, or the like, for example.
2. Related Art
For example, to use an electrophotographic system in an image formation apparatus of a printer, a facsimile machine, a multiple function processing machine having the functions of a printer and a facsimile, or the like, generally, uniform electrostatic charges are given to the top of a photoconductive insulator such as a photoconductive drum and a light figure is applied to the top of the photoconductive insulator by various means, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image and then the formed latent image is developed and visualized with magnetic powder using a developing machine and the toner power image is transferred to a recording medium such as paper and then is fixed for providing printed matter.
In such an electrophotographic image formation apparatus, the behavior of magnetic powder stored in a vessel such as agitation, transport to a magnetic roller, attraction to a magnetic roller, or jetting to a photoconductor charged in response to a record image and formed with a latent image affects the image quality of the record image. Then, analysis of the behavior of the magnetic powder becomes important for developing an electrophotographic apparatus main unit and a developing unit.
For behavior simulation of particles such as powder and granules, a method called discrete element method or distinct element method becomes widespread. However, the analysis load grows approximately as the square of the number of particles in a particle behavior calculation algorithm based on the discrete element method and thus if the number of particles increases, the computation amount become enormous; even if the performance of a computer improves, it is often difficult to execute calculation on the number of particles equal to that in the actual system.